Sage grouse protections anger ranchers

Matt McClure, Calgary Herald03.24.2014

The federal government estimates that over the last three decades, sage grouse numbers in Canada have declined by 98 per cent and that there are currently only about 100 birds left in the grassland areas of Alberta and Saskatchewan.photos courtesy Montana FWP
/ Handout

The federal government estimates that over the last three decades, sage grouse numbers in Canada have declined by 98 per cent and that there are currently only about 100 birds left in the grassland areas of Alberta and Saskatchewan.photos courtesy Montana FWP
/ Handout

Ranchers in southeastern Alberta are worried a recent emergency protection order for the greater sage grouse will jeopardize their livelihoods while doing little to protect the endangered bird.

Upset by grazing limit recommendations they fear could cut incomes in half, cattle producers are organizing to lobby the federal government to rescind the order that covers nearly 1,700 square kilometres of public land.

Keith Reesor, a Medicine Hat-area rancher, said he believes predators, not loss of habitat, are to blame for the sage grouse’s plummeting numbers.

“The track record of government in managing species numbers is so poor and we’re nervous,” Reesor said.

“Our worry is this order will restrict our ability to make a living, along with our neighbours with oil and gas interests, but it’s not really going to help the bird too much.”

The federal government estimates that over the last three decades, sage grouse numbers in Canada have declined by 98 per cent and that there are currently only about 100 birds left in the grassland areas of Alberta and Saskatchewan.

In the wake of a 2012 court case by environmental groups to force the government to use the Species at Risk Act to protect the sage grouse, federal officials issued an order last December that prevents construction of new roads and fences in the affected areas and restricts noise during the bird’s mating season.

While Environment Canada estimated the order would result in about $10 million in lost oil revenues over the coming decade, the department suggested the impact on ranchers would be minimal.

Reesor’s wife, Ronda, said a federal recovery plan for the species suggests a 25 per cent limit on grazing that would effectively halve the number of cattle ranchers who are currently grazing on lands they have leased.

“I don’t know many people in Canada who can afford to have half their income deleted,” she said.

Reesor said about 200 affected land users attended a meeting last week where they resolved to start an association that would fight for the order to be rescinded and the legislation reviewed.

“This is a Canadian issue, not just a local issue,” she said.

“This is the first time they’ve used this act, but other orders that are issued in future could impact mining, oil and gas to any users on that land.”

Cliff Wallis, vice-president of the Alberta Wilderness Association, said the federal order contains no grazing restrictions, although existing provincial government rules normally limit the amount at below 40 per cent.

“People are in that lashing out phase, where they’re not listening or are misinformed.” Wallis said.

“They are not working co-operatively at saving the sage grouse, but at protecting their own narrow economic interests.”

He said he was dismayed the federal department declared last year that protection of the bird was an emergency, but has yet to deploy field staff to explain the order’s impact to ranchers.

“It’s the slowest emergency I have ever seen,” Wallis said.

“The protection order is part of the solution, but the government should never have allowed the situation with the sage grouse to have reached the stage where it was needed.”

The City of Medicine Hat and LGX Oil and Gas have filed a court application to force the federal government to stop or suspend the order, saying industry and other stakeholders were not consulted sufficiently.

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